| Lara was born in Kailua, Hawaii, on the windward side of the island of Oahu. She was raised in a Christian home and accepted Christ as her Savior at a very early age. While attending Hawaii Baptist Academy, a mission high school, she felt God's direction toward a career in medical missions. After receiving her bachelors degree at Creighton University, Lara spent two years in Hakodate, Japan teaching English and serving in a church plant. She then returned to the University of Iowa for medical school. Her desire to pursue medical missions was confirmed and strengthened from these experiences. David and Lara met while doing their Family Practice residency training in Modesto. They were married in 1997 and were active in their home church, Calvary Chapel of Modesto. They have three children, Benjamin ('00), Jonathan ('02), and Kailee ('08). Why Cambodia? After puzzling over why their hearts were so drawn to this ministry, they received a call from David's uncle who, unbeknownst to the Naritas, had been praying that God would lead them to Cambodia three years before they made that decision. After arriving in Cambodia in March 2003, David and Lara lived in the capital city, Phnom Penh, for two and a half years. They were involved in a variety of activities both medical and within the Khmer church. David worked at World Vision within a maternal health education program; Lara saw patients and taught at Cambodia Trust, a group making prosthetics & orthotics for handicapped people. They were involved with Bethel church and their youth program there. David was also team doctor and served within the leadership of OMF Cambodia. In October 2005, they moved to Siem Reap in the northwestern region of Cambodia to help with five village churches there. A majority of their time was in church work, helping to mentor leaders and coordinate some church-based development projects. Lara was involved part-time with the community outreach program at Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC). David coordinated the re-translation and re-illustration of Where There Is No Doctor, a village health manual. They were also active in the Christian Fellowship of Siem Reap, a non-denominational international church in Siem Reap town. Following their return back from their home assignment in June 2008, David's resumed some ministry within the churches and is working with AHC. Lara has been looking into possible projects but plans to spend more time at home with her newborn daughter. Updated October 2008 |
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| David was born in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey where he accepted Christ as a child through vacation Bible school. In his first year in college at Brown University, he felt God's call to live his life according to eternal values, not his own. After attending the Urbana 87 missions conference, David spent the following summer with Youth With A Mission in the Caribbean. It was through this experience that he felt God confirming His call to career missions. Through prayer and the advice of other missionaries, David felt a good way to gain access to many countries was through medicine. He changed his college major from engineering to focus on health care delivery in developing countries, obtained his MD specializing in family medicine, and later completed a fellowship in medical education. Until leaving for Cambodia in 2003, he was on faculty with UC Davis and worked at a clinic serving Mexican migrant workers. |
| The Narita Family |
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